Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Rehab update: Almost there....!

As it's now been 6 weeks since surgery I've been full weight bearing, although I have to say somewhat tentatively since last Thursday with the aid of a crutch (I ditched one). I still haven't seen the consultant since week 2 post op due to "unforseen circumstances" in the NHS, though I'm scheduled to see him end of next week.

Went for my latest physio appointment yesterday, prepared for a shouting at, but she was I think ok with my progress.

As usual I thought I was streets ahead, and as I'm now weight bearing this would be my last appointment with her.

Oh no.

She's given me a few more exercises (of which more shortly) and given me an appointment for another 3 weeks when, in her words "We'll get you in the gym and work you a bit harder". Hmmm.....doesn't sound like much fun to me...

The exercises are primarily to build up muscle strength and tone as the muscles waste surprisingly quickly when you aren't using them. Even I can see that my left leg is no where near as strong as my right, even though I tried to convince her that there wasn't much muscle tone there to begin with!

Here's a couple of the exercises she's given me. Try them for yourself (no seriously) and see how easy or hard they are when you've got 2 good legs!

BalanceStand on one leg, without supporting yourself by hanging onto something. Keep standing there for 20 or 30 seconds (if you can). Right, now shut your eyes and see how long you can keep standing on that one leg.if you're anything like me, I was shaky after even 15 seconds, and when I shut my eyes it took about 5 seconds for me to put the other foot down - and that was on my good leg! On my bad leg I didn't get as far as shutting my eyes!!!

So, although I feel fine, I need to build my muscles up a bit. There's still some tenderness around the wound site and some soreness/stiffness by the end of the day.At least though she gave me the nod to dispense with the bloody crutches once and for all.